Rockstar News

Rockstar Energy Racing must have some sort of magic on their side when it comes to the opening round of the season at Anaheim 1. After Davi Millsaps picked up the unforeseen victory in dramatic fashion in 2013, Jason Anderson continued what can be hoped to be a tradition in similar form at 2014's inaugural round. Heading into Phoenix once again, the team has a rider carrying the coveted red plate. This continued success did not come easy however. With the complete changing of OEM's to KTM during the offseason, it required a lot of work from everyone involved. Virtually starting over creates a necessity for hours of research from the crew and an equal amount of effort from the riders in regards to testing on the bikes. Clearly they are moving in the right direction.

It was no secret that Ivan Tedesco was coming into the 2014 season a little behind the eight ball with very little time to prepare for the kick off. After an injury to Millsaps, Ivan was brought in to fill his absence only a few short weeks ago, and this coming after an extensive layoff from racing. Tedesco has a lot going for him however that led to the decision to bring him to the team. His ability to test motorcycles and give technical feedback after riding several different motorcycle brands throughout his career. He is also a very positive role model for youngsters Anderson and Joey Savatgy and will not shy away from helping them grow. IT is a very well liked racer by the fans, which is always important as well. One thing that is known is that practicing and racing are two very different animals. Considering the hurdles he had to overcome entering A1, he did not have a bad day to build off of, although the main event certainly didn't go as planned. He clearly got more comfortable throughout the day and put himself into the main event successfully. Unfortunately after a good start, he was hit hard in a corner by another rider and went down. Due to the contact, his bike was damaged to a point where he could not continue.

Ivan Tedesco: "Day was a little rough for me, in practice I was a little off, a little notchy all day. I couldn't really expect too much though. I've only been on the bike for three weeks and haven't raced in 2 years. I'm kind of just taking it for what it is and I know where I'm at now and can work on things to try and do better next weekend."

Jason Anderson is definitely seeing his hard work pay off. He has been nothing but 100% focused and commited during the offseason. Jason surely didn't come into the opener under the radar however as he is a clear contender for the 250 West title. He did not disappoint. He was running a blistering pace throughout the day. In fact after qualifying practice 1, there were only 3 riders in the 58 second lap time range. The two top 450 riders, and Jason. He was the only 250 rider to break that mark and was nearly a full second faster than his nearest competitor. In his heat race he made things simple, holeshot to a win. Wire to wire. The main event proved to be a little more adverse however. JA was able to take the start once again but relinquished the lead a few laps later. The next several laps the two leaders remained close enough to throw a blanket over as they completely dropped the rest of the field. It was going to be close until the end with one of the two capturing the win. Jason had something going for him in this situation. Although a 250 main is only 15 laps, Anderson trains by doing 25. It's no doubt that this type of effort is a key to success. He will always be strong throughout the duration of the race. He made an aggressive pass stick with only a couple corners remaining and collected his first of many checkered flags of the season.

Jason Anderson: "My day was good from start to finish. Got my first career heat win and my second career main event victory. Dude, I'm happy! I don't think you could do any better than that. The only thing I lost was second practice!"

Anderson will go into Phoenix with the points lead and look to extend it. Tedesco will continue to improve and race himself into shape and will be back to form soon.

Davi Millsaps will continue to rehab his injured knee and the hope is he will return fairly early in the Supercross season. Joey Savatgy who is also recovering from Injury is trying to return to racing by the 250 East Championship's kick off. Joey was slated to ride a 350 in the West, so his spot will be filled by Cole Thompson, who will begin racing next week.